It is mostly about stories on the Korean people’s struggles against the U. S. bases in Korea. Hope many of you find some clues and sources here. Please just be kind and fair to the source.많은 분들께서 여기에서 단서들과 자료들을 찾길 바랍니다. 다만 단서와 자료의 기원에 대해 친절하고 공정하게 표기해 주시면 감사하겠읍니다.

'Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin takes part in the launching ceremony of Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline at the Kozmino oil-loading port in the bay of Kozmino, about 100 km (62 miles) east of Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok December 28, 2009. REUTERS/Yuri Maltsev'

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday U.S. plans for a missile defense system were the main obstacle to reaching a new deal on reducing Cold War arsenals of nuclear weapons.

The two largest nuclear powers say they are close to agreeing on a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), although U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have yet to clinch a deal.

Asked by a reporter what the biggest problem was in the talks, Putin said: "What is the problem? The problem is that our American partners are building an anti-missile shield and we are not building one."

Speaking to reporters in the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, Putin said the U.S. plans would fundamentally disrupt the Cold War balance of power and Russia would thus be forced to develop new offensive weapons.

The comments, from Russia's most powerful politician, showed the seriousness of the problems hampering talks on a replacement for START I and illustrated the deep unease still felt in Moscow over Washington's missile defense plans.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly rejected any attempt to broaden the START negotiations to cover defensive weapons systems, although another senior U.S. official voiced optimism over the talks.

"We have made substantial progress in the negotiations and remain confident that when talks resume in January that we'll be able to finalize an agreement," the senior official said.

In September, Obama said the United States would scrap parts of George W. Bush's missile defense plans, a step seen as an attempt to allay Kremlin fears that the system was a direct threat to Russia.

Cutting the thousands of nuclear weapons accumulated during the Cold War is the centerpiece of Obama's efforts to "reset" relations with Russia, which the United States is pressing to offer more help on Afghanistan and Iran.

OFFENSIVE WEAPONS SYSTEMS

Russia's leaders have remained wary about Obama's revised missile defense plans, which are based on sea- and land-based missile interceptors in Europe.

"If we are not developing an anti-missile shield, then there is a danger that our partners, by creating such 'an umbrella,' will feel completely secure and thus can allow themselves to do what they want, disrupting the balance, and aggressiveness will rise immediately," Putin said.

"In order to preserve balance ... we need to develop offensive weapons systems," Putin said, echoing a pledge by Medvedev last week to develop a new generation of strategic nuclear weapons.

Putin said Moscow wanted more information about the U.S. plans in exchange for details about Russia's deployed nuclear offensive missiles.

"The problems of anti-missile defense and offensive weapons are very tightly linked to each other," he said, adding that talks on a new treaty were moving in a generally positive direction.

The State Department's Kelly said the new START agreement would "break no new ground" on defensive weapons systems.

"While the United States has long agreed that there is a relationship between missile offense and defense, we believe the START follow-on agreement is not the appropriate vehicle for addressing it," Kelly said in a statement.

"We have agreed to continue to discuss the topic of missile defense with Russia in a separate venue," he said.

Russia and the United States failed to agree on a successor to START I by December 5, when the treaty was due to expire, and have extended it as they try to work out a new agreement.

Obama and Medvedev failed to clinch a deal when they met on the sidelines of the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen earlier this month. No reason was given, although they said they were close to an agreement.

'Source: Reuters: 'Afghan protest the killing of 10 civilians, most of them teenagers, in a military raid'

"In Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, which borders Kunar, around 200 university students rallied in the streets to protest, demanding those responsible for the weekend attack be brought to justice.'

-Indo-Japanese strategic ties are part of an effort to counter the growinginfluence of China in the area, said Mahindra Singh, retired Indian Army majorgeneral and defense analyst based here. The heavy dependence of Japan and India on oil imports from the Persian Gulf is another major driver behind the growing Indo-Japanese relationship, Singh said.

NEW DELHI: India and Japan will upgrade their defense and strategic ties througha Defence Action Plan (DAP) that will be presented to the prime ministers ofboth countries when Yukio Hatoyama meets his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, here Dec. 30, said a senior Indian Foreign Ministry official. The Japanese primeminister is visiting Dec. 27-30.

The DAP will set up a framework to increase defense and strategic cooperation.One principal area will be maritime cooperation, the official added. Maritimesecurity dialogue between defense authorities of India and Japan already hasbeen taking place for "some time," said an official of the Indian DefenceMinistry.

Indo-Japanese strategic ties are part of an effort to counter the growinginfluence of China in the area, said Mahindra Singh, retired Indian Army majorgeneral and defense analyst based here. The heavy dependence of Japan and Indiaon oil imports from the Persian Gulf is another major driver behind the growingIndo-Japanese relationship, Singh said.

'Family members of five tenants killed during a police raid of a building designated for redevelopment last January hold a joint press conference at the site, Wednesday, after a settlement was reached with development companies over a compensation package. / Korea Times Photo by Bae Wu-han'

An agreement was made Wednesday on a compensation package for the five tenants who were killed when police tried to forcibly evict them from a building, which was set to be demolished, in central Seoul in January.

The settlement came 345 days after the "Yongsan Disaster," named after the location of the building in Seoul. Families of the five victims have put off funerals demanding full-state compensation and an apology. One police officer was also killed during the operation.

The funeral for the victims will be held on Jan. 9. The "redevelopment committee," whose work has been held up for nearly a year, will bear the funeral expenses as well as provide compensation.

It was agreed that no civil or criminal lawsuits will be filed. A seven-member committee will be formed to implement the accord.

However, details of the agreement such as the amount of the settlement payment were not disclosed.

Civic groups claim that this disaster represents the Lee Myung-bak government's policy of promoting the interest of the affluent at the expense of the underprivileged. Thus, the settlement is expected to remove much of that stigma.

The settlement came through the mediation of Seoul City Mayor Oh Se-hoon.

"I am grateful to the religious leaders who assisted in the arbitration and citizens who watched over the incident," Seoul Mayor Oh said. "The city will proactively tackle problems in urban redevelopment in the future."

Following the agreement, Prime Minister Chung said the incident was a tragedy that should not have happened and the government will institutionalize mechanisms so as not to see a repeat of the tragedy.

Chung met representatives of the distraught families at the building where the incident took place and the families protested on Oct. 3, just four days after he was named the prime minister.

"The government has set up measures to reform redevelopment projects and we will improve housing security for the less-privileged," Chung said Wednesday.

The incident took place on Jan. 20 when some 40 tenants protested the redevelopment. On the rooftop of a four-story building, they clashed with riot police in a pre-dawn raid. A fire broke out during the clash and five evictees and a police officer were killed in the blaze.

The families of the deceased occupied the burnt building, demanding compensation and an apology from the state.

Prosecutors refused to disclose some 3,000 pages of investigation records that are believed to contain details of the clash between the tenants and police, alleging that only the tenants were guilty. In response, lawyers for the tenants quit.

[* The tenants and activists who were arrested on the day have gotten 5~6 year prison term and many involved in the protest against the eviction are still chased by the police.In today's settlement, there was no provision on the matter. One of the issues still need to be solved. ]Police officers who directed the operation on the night have either quit their jobs or been transferred to other positions. For instance, Kim Seok-ki, then-chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the commissioner general-designate of the National Police Agency, who approved the mobilization of a SWAT team, resigned.

HankyorehPresidential pardon for former Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee raises ire: Critics say exchange for support in attempt to win bid for the Winter Olympic Games is insufficient in covering damage done to Lee administration’s principles of legalismPosted on : Dec.30,2009 12:07 KST

A special presidential pardon has been announced for former Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee.

The Justice Ministry announced on Tuesday that it will be instating a special pardon for Lee Kun-hee, an International Olympic Committee member, on Jan 31. This is the first time under the constitutional order that a presidential pardon has been issued to a businessman as a single individual, and the first time a pardon has been issued at the end of the year, rather than on a national holiday or Memorial Day.

Lee Kun-hee is set to receive his pardon just four months after being sentenced to three years in prison, five years of probation and a 110 billion Won fine for malpractice and tax evasion. This is the second time Lee has been pardoned. In October of 1997, he was pardoned after being sentenced to two years in prison and three years of probation for involvement in the Roh Tae-woo slush fund scandal.

Announcing President Lee Myung-bak’s decision to grant a presidential pardon to the former Samsung Chairman, Justice Minister Lee Kwi-nam said the move was intended to improve chances for South Korea’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang City. Minister Lee referred to this as a cherished national wish, and described how they were hoping the pardon would help Lee Kun-hee restore his IOC credentials, which are currently suspended.

During a cabinet meeting earlier that day, President Lee spoke about having received strong appeals from throughout the sports world, Gangwon region residents and the business sector that convey Lee Kun-hee’s activities are absolutely necessary in order for Pyeongchang to win its bid to host the Olympics in its third try. President Lee said that he based his decision regarding the presidential pardon on the interests of the country. According to Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) spokeswoman, Kim Eun-hye, President Lee also said it is imperative that Lee Kun-hee turn over a new leaf, contribute to South Korea’s standing in the international sports world and work to boost South Korea’s economic competitiveness.

Choi Gyo-il, director of the Justice Ministry’s Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, said the committee on presidential pardons convened on Dec 24, and that it seems most of the committee members, too, made a decision based on national interests. He also said while the Lee administration has sufficiently taken into consideration the fact that there could be public criticism over the law and principles, it considers Lee Kun-hee’s pardon a matter of national interest.

The Samsung Group welcomed the pardon and issued a brief unofficial statement expressing gratitude to the administration and the public. The Korea Chamber of Commerce, which had petitioned for Lee’s pardon, also welcomed the pardon, and said it expected Lee Kun-hee to both play an important role drawing the Winter Olympic Games to Pyeongchang, and contribute further to South Korea’s economic development.

Major civic groups, meanwhile, have been blasting the pardon and blame it for the collapse of the law. The People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) says the dignity of the nation and the fundamental democratic value of equality before the law have fallen. The civic groups expressed deep frustration that the former Samsung chairman has been treated as an absolute entity, a chaebol chief above the President himself. MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society also says pardoning a convict who wrecked havoc on the economic order just four months into his sentence could not be justified for any reason, and call on the Lee administration to stop espousing legalism.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

* Image source: Tongil News (Original source is Left21)Civil Social Organizations, Enter the 72 hours ‘Overnight Vigil’ in front of the National Assembly: Focus on 30th, “Opposing the Forceful Passing of the Bills Including the Budget for the Four-River Project, in A Snatching Way by the National Assembly” Dec. 29, Tuesday, 2009

Dec. 29, GOHEUNG, South Korea -- This is an artist redering of an observation tower to be set up on a mountain, 12km from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province. Due to be built by the first half of 2011, the 47-meter tower will provide a clear view of rockets launched from the spece center. (Yonhap)'

The National Assembly passed a motion Tuesday to extend the mission of the Navy's anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit, which is in waters off Somalia, until the end of next year.

Since its deployment in March, the 300-strong unit has successfully escorted more than 300 domestic and foreign cargo ships through the troubled waters and thwarted nine attempts by pirates to hijack ships.

The contingent consists of a 4,500-ton KDX-II destroyer, a Lynx anti-submarine helicopter and a group of 30 UDT/SEAL forces.

Last month, a third contingent left for the Somali littorals as part of a four-month rotation.

The KDX-II destroyer is equipped with an Mk 45 127mm gun, harpoon ship-to-surface missiles, RAM Mk 31 ship-to-air guided missiles, and a 30mm Goalkeeper system for engaging sea-skimming anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. Built in 2003, the 150-meter-long, 17-meter-wide ship has a top speed of 29 knots. Located along the route of a crude-oil pipeline connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and racked by civil war, Somalia has become infamous for piracy.

Each year, about 20,000 ships sail through the Gulf of Aden headed for the Suez Canal, an important shipping route for international trade that links Europe to the Middle East and Asia. The International Maritime Organization counted 111 attacks in 2008 in waters near Somalia, the most notorious location for piracy in the world.

The Yang Man Chun (DH-973) KDX-I class destroyer was recognized as the top gunnery ship of the year, the Navy said Tuesday.

The 3,200-ton destroyer of the 3rd Navy Command received the highest score in the annual evaluation of ship-to-air/ship-to-ship firing capability among the Navy's destroyers, frigates and patrol ships, it said in a news release.

The Ministry of National Defense announced Tuesday that it will indict 20 officers at the Navy's Gyeryongdae military headquarters in South Chungcheong Province on charges of engaging in irregularities in military equipment acquisition and influence-peddling.

The corruption cases resulted in a loss about $670 million won to the state coffers, the ministry said, unveiling the results of its months-long investigation.

In one example, a Marine colonel helped a local construction company win a contract from the Navy in 2003 and received 40 million won from the firm in kickbacks.

The investigation began in October under the direction of Defense Minister Kim Tae-young, after Lieutenant Commander Kim Young-soo spoke up the irregularities.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

'Governor, Kim Moon-Soo, Start on Active Action for the Peaceful Settlementon the Issue of the Expansion of the Mugeon-ri Military training Field_ Dec. 28, 2009, at 11am, front gate of the Gyunggi Province Hall, [Suwon, Gyunggi Province)_’Village People’s Committee against the Expansion of the Mugeon-ri Military Training Field’ and‘Pan Korea Committee against the Expansion of the Mugeon-ri Military Training Field’

'Governor, Kim Moon-Soo, Start on the Settlement of the Issue!''Ohyun-ri Village People Have No Place to Go.'-Village People’s Committee against the Expansion of the Mugeon-ri Military Training Field-

* The video link was forwarded from a Japanese friend in the site, 'Anatakara' on Dec. 28, 2009

"This is the recent info in Yumi Kikuchi's blog. […] Some citizens are collecting petitions, asking our central government to review the then decision to dispatch our SDFs to Afghanistan and Iraq."______________________________________________________________________'9/11 Total Proof that Bombs were Planted in the Buildings!' (Youtube URL)

‘Sorry for the audio being slightly out of sync. All of the individual news reports in this video can be found on YouTube and other video sites.

Bombs, explosions, secondary explosions, explosive devices....how many more times do we need to hear these words being said by 9/11 witnesses before we start asking questions about what really happened on that awful day?

This video shows that many actual 9/11 witnesses heard and saw explosions going off inside the towers, long before they actually fell. These witnesses include police, firemen and reporters.

And what is even more shocking is the fact that all of this has been largely ignored by the mainstream media after the day itself.

For those debunkers who wish to keep saying that the explosions were caused by gas lines, please save your breath. All of the three buildings that were blown up on 9/11 were all Class-A buildings. This means that gas lines were not permitted because the buildings had to comply with the safety regulations set out for Class-A buildings. So there were no gas lines!

We really need to wake up to the facts and ask questions. If we don't, what does that say about us?’

The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) discussed ways to create a stronger defense relationship last month, officials here said Monday.

Defense Minister Kim Tae-young flew to the UAE in November twice to discuss bilateral defense issues as well as to support Seoul's successful bid to win a $20 billion contract to build four nuclear reactors in the Middle Eastern nation, they said.

``Based on a Korea-UAE memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in 2006, Kim and his UAE counterpart discussed the details of the defense cooperation between the two nations,'' an official at Seoul's Ministry of National Defense said on condition of anonymity. ``The UAE asked South Korea to provide lots of information regarding possible defense cooperation programs.''

The official neither confirmed nor denied a report that both sides had signed an agreement on specific defense cooperation.

The UAE sought to review South Korea's battlefield training system using the Military Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES), harbor protection systems, pilot training programs and others, he said.

The sides also discussed ways of providing military support to each nation in the case of an emergency, the official said.

``The UAE is a small military power at the moment but faces potential conflicts in the volatile Middle East, so it wants to learn know-how from South Korea, which maintains a large and advanced armed forces,'' a diplomatic source said.

The armed forces of the UAE, officially called the Union Defense Force, consists of 65,000 troops, and is headquartered in Abu Dhabi. It is the federal military force and is primarily responsible for the defense of all seven emirates.

South Korea has 650,000 troops and is supported by 28,500 U.S. forces. Korean troops are being equipped with high-tech weapons systems under the Defense Reform 2020 modernization program.

The 2ND Infantry Division of the U.S. Forces Korea has distributed new child-friendly chemical environment protective masks to its servicemembers with children, according to the Stars and Stripes said Monday.

The U.S. military newspaper said the move is part of efforts to better protect American children in South Korea from possible chemical and biological attacks by North Korea.

``It's just a [matter of] preparation,'' Army Capt. Allan Garcia, the 2nd Infantry Division's chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear operations officer, was quoted as saying. ``You just never know what the capability … is of [North Korea].''

Garcia said the model being replaced was good only for children 3 and younger, and was ``more like a plastic bag that you put your kids in.'' The new model, however, is good for children 8 and younger and ``looks more like a space suit,'' he said.

South Korea has picked up project rights for a 40 billion dollar (47 trillion Won) nuclear power plant project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) announced Sunday (local time) that a consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) was selected as the final contractor for the project. The KEPCO consoritium beat out France’s AREVA and a U.S. consortia led by General Electric Co. and the Japanese firm Hitachi Ltd.

The UAE project is the largest-scale overseas project order ever picked up by South Korea. The selection is further significant in that it marks the first exportation of South Korea’s independently developed nuclear power plant model APR. Environmental groups, meanwhile, continue to question the safety and utility of nuclear power plants.

Project Details and Selection Factors

The KEPCO consortium will begin work on the power plant next year in Sila, a city located 330 kilometers west of the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi. There will be four 1,400 MW-capacity plants at the location generating a total of 5,600 MW of power. Analysts say out of the 40 billion dollars, an estimated 20 billion dollars will go into design, construction and early operating expenses, while the remaining 20 billion dollars will go towards after service expenses for a period of 60 years after construction is completed for items such as plant fuel, operating costs, maintenance and waste treatment.

The primary factor in the selection of the South Korean nuclear power plant model, which has never been exported before, was its cost competitiveness. According to data from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the APR’s construction unit cost of 2,300 dollars per kilowatt (kW) was lower than those of its competitors AREVA at 2,900 dollars per kW, and GE at 3,583 dollars per kW. In terms of electricity generation unit cost, the South Korean model’s 3.03 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) was lower than AREVA’s 3.93 cents kWh, and less than half Hitachi’s 6.86 cents kWh.

Criticism from Environment Groups

Questions about its utility and safety make nuclear power a controversial energy source throughout the world. The chief concern has to do with fatal damages that could result from radiation leakage in the event of an accident. For this reason, environment groups have maintained that nuclear power cannot be a fundamental alternative for combating climate change and that the construction of nuclear power plants should be minimized.

These arguments factor into the dark shadow lurking behind all the praise about the export of South Korea’s first nuclear power plant model. Environmental activists are noting that the dazzling copy about the largest power plant export in South Korea’s history masks continued concerns about environmental safety. In particular, they are pointing out that while the Lee administration is heralding a “nuclear power Renaissance” and talking up nuclear power as a green energy resource, safety concerns and other issues remain topics of debate within the international community. Indeed, nuclear power, unlike other renewal energy sources like wind and solar power, is not included in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), an instrument for greenhouse gas reductions included under article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol. Although countries like France and Japan place a high emphasis on nuclear power and have been arguing for its inclusion, no conclusion was reached on the matter at the recent climate change conference in Copenhagen.

Environmental activists are also claiming that the benefits of nuclear power plant construction as a future industry are questionable, since global demand for nuclear power plant construction is not very large and Korea still has not secured original technology. “There is a demand for new plants mainly in countries where civil society is not active, like China and countries in the Middle East, but there is no explosive demand at the worldwide level,” said Energy Justice Actions head Lee Heon-seok. “Also, because we still do not have the original technology, nuclear power plants lack future prospects in industry terms,” Lee noted.

Yanglee Won-young, head of Korean Federation for Environmental Movement’s committee on climate and energy, says, “Nuclear power may conceivably be a necessary temporary substitute for fossil fuels, but a better alternative would be to promote energy efficiency or develop renewable energy sources.” Yanglee added, “It is undesirable for South Korea to go all in on nuclear power.”

Dear Friends!This could be interesting for us humanists.I am forwarding John Lannon's e-mail , an endorsed human rights and peace activist and the spokesperson of Shannonwatch that also endorsed the march.\big hug KrisztinaInternational Hunger Strike Press Release

Sunday December 27th marks the anniversary of the attack on Gaza by Israel, which left over 1,400 people dead, and over 5,000 injured in 22 days.At 11 35 am, the time of the first attack, a group of humanitarians on the “Viva Palestina Convoy” will embark on an International Hunger Strike in the main square in Aqaba, Jordan.

The International Hunger Strike will aim to highlight the ongoing illegal siege imposed on Gaza, and to remember the victims of the attacks who died during the 22 day bombardment by Israel.

This International Hunger Strike will also highlight the refusal by Egypt, under Israeli pressure, to allow the humanitarian aid to reach the people in Gaza. The convoy has been stranded in the city for 3 days now, having been refused permission to enter Egypt on their way to Gaza. There are 500 people from no less than 20 different countries in 250 vehicles loaded with charitable humanitarian aid. The convoy is been led by leading international politician George Galloway, having left London on December 6th.

Embarking on the International Hunger Strike are 15 people from different continents across the world. Among those taking part are Fatima Mohammidi from the United States, John Hurson and Caoimhe Butterly from Ireland, Ahasan Shamruk from Palestine, Nidal Hajaj, Hanan Chehata and Mohammed Shakiel from England, plus Kamal Mashni from Australia among others.

Each day, 15 more people from the convoy will join in the International Hunger Strike, and they will go without food until the convoy is allowed to enter safely into Egypt, and through the Rafah border to Gaza.

Speaking from Aqaba, Ahasan Shamruk, said, “I am joining this Hunger Strike to draw attention to the fact that the siege is a form of collective, sustained, and devastating punishment of 1.5 million civilian people. As we commemorate the first year anniversary of the massacres, it is important to remember, that for my brothers and sisters living under siege in Gaza, the war has not ended.”

John Hurson, from Tyrone, who travelled on the first “Viva Palestinan Convoy”, decided to join the International Hunger Strike to draw attention to the fact that nothing has changed in the past year following the attacks.John said, “from my time spent in Gaza, to think that in the year 2009, people are denied all the basic essentials in life, like water, electricity, medicine, blankets, books, and even footballs for the children, is just unbelievable and unacceptable.

“For Egypt to prevent this compassionate and charitable aid, donated by ordinary caring people from all over the world, unnnecessarily adds to the hardships currently endured on a daily basis, by the besieged and distressed people in Gaza.

I am hopeful that the leaders of the West will exert their influence, put pressure on Egypt, the United States, and Israel to end this inhuman blockade forced upon Gaza, and allow for the safe passage of this essential humanitarian aid. Enough is enough, this has to end now, for the sake of humanity.”For more information see http://www.indymedia.ie/article/95197.

The year 2009 saw South Korea and the United States take a new step forward in their strategic military alliance, as they ironed out thorny issues of mutual concern, defense experts say.

North Korea's continued, provocative military actions on the peninsula also boosted the importance of the alliance, they added.

``Overall, the development of the alliance was fruitful this year, but there are still issues to be further fine-tuned,'' a defense researcher here told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity. He was apparently referring to Seoul's recent decision to redeploy troops to Afghanistan to help U.S. and other coalition forces fight against terrorists there as a case in point.

``As for the deployment to Afghanistan, which is hailed by the U.S. administration, there are still unresolved issues and questions, such as the appropriate number of troops and the timing of the deployment,'' the researcher said. ``The motion hasn't been approved by the National Assembly and we're not sure that the deployment can go ahead as scheduled in the first half of next year, when the U.S. will need troop support the most.''

The administration announced earlier this month that it would send 320 troops and 40 police officers to the Central Asian nation to accompany 100 Korean reconstruction workers to be dispatched to the country.

The decision was made after Washington had repeatedly requested Seoul to contribute troops to Afghanistan. The presidential office said the deployment would help to further strengthen ties with Washington as well as increase the country's global profile to match its economic power.

Some in the military argued a brigade-level unit should be dispatched for full-fledged anti-terror operations. But Cheong Wa Dae was wary of possible public backlash over a large-scale troop deployment.

Opposition lawmakers have opposed the deployment, worrying the country could become a target of terror attacks. The passage of the motion is expected to be delayed until February.

Change in USFK Roles

A key challenge ahead for the alliance is Seoul's smooth acceptance of the U.S. Forces Korea's (USFK) strategic flexibility, the researcher said.

In the early 2000s, the U.S. military initiated the idea of changing the mission of American forces abroad from stationary ones focused on defending host nations to a rapid-deployment strategy in which troops are swiftly dispatched to parts of the world where the U.S. faces conflict.

Seoul and Washington agreed to the altering of the role of U.S. forces in Korea in 2006. The plan has not been fully implemented amid concerns that it could weaken the Korea-U.S. combined defense posture against North Korea.

In recent months, U.S. military leaders repeatedly mentioned the need for the scheme, in line with the planned longer, family-accompanied tours by U.S. forces in Korea.

Speaking at a forum organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, USFK Commander Gen. Walter Sharp said, ``We want the troops to be regionally engaged and globally deployed, but we'll never forget that our No. 1 responsibility in Korea is to defend the Republic of Korea.

``Sometime in the future we could have forces that could, with consultations between both nations, be able to be deployed in different places around the world,'' he said.

The researcher said the strategic flexibility of U.S. troops overseas is an unavoidable ``trend.''

``The strategic flexibility is not a matter of conflict but a matter of consultation or coordination,'' he noted. ``It's time for us to think of what we can get from the U.S. strategic flexibility, not what we can lose from it.

``Given that the agreed 21st strategic alliance partnership calls for boosting bilateral cooperation in global issues, we can't and shouldn't deny the strategic flexibility mechanism,'' said the expert. ``The Lee government should think of how it will get this message across to the public and prevent unnecessary controversy over this issue.''

In June, Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Barack Obama issued the Joint Vision for the ROK-US Alliance at the end of their summit in Washington, D.C. The plan calls for building a broader alliance in the realms of politics, economy, culture and other areas, in addition to the security arena.

Nuclear Deterrence

In the summit, President Obama reaffirmed that Washington will continue to provide an extended nuclear umbrella to South Korea in response to North Korea's increasing nuclear threats.The pledge was stipulated in a joint communique of the defense ministers from the two nations at the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in October in Seoul.

``I think 2009 has been extremely important for the alliance because North Korea has repeatedly demonstrated the importance of the alliance during a period where some key people in both the ROK and the United States seem to be doubting its importance,'' Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corporation, a U.S. non-profit policy think tank, wrote in an e-mail.

North Korean insistence on retaining its nuclear weapons and being designated a nuclear power makes the ROK-US alliance ever more critical for the security of South Korea and the region, he said.

``As a result, I found the ROK-US Joint Vision of the Alliance statement to be a key development. I was especially struck by the US commitment to extended deterrence, including its nuclear umbrella,'' said the analyst.

Bennett said North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's illness early in the year implied that succession could come soon, and the failure of Kim Jong-il to clearly designate a successor suggests that a third-generation Kim family succession could fail.

This view was reinforced by North Korea's provocations — its missile launches and nuclear test — in the first half of the year, which apparently stemmed from Kim Jong-Il's deteriorating health and the need to demonstrate his power, he analyzed.

``If anyone in the ROK was feeling safe from North Korean nuclear weapons, they should have developed a different perspective after May 25 (the nuclear test), and worried about how the ROK government was going to protect them,'' the analyst said.

``While most experts have focused on Kim Jong-Il's efforts to appear peaceful and cooperative in the second half of this year, I think there have been clear signs even in this period of the need for our alliance, given North Korean instability,'' he said.

North Korea's poor crop yield this year likely means that many North Koreans could face famine over the coming year, increasing instability in the communist state, he added, saying the North Korean currency revaluation early this month was a major event that hurt the North Korean elite.

This action is likely to destabilize the North Korean government, increasing the chances of the regime collapsing, he said.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- A deal that could amount to US$40 billion clinched Sunday by South Korea to build commercial reactors for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) heralds the emergence of the Asian country as the world's sixth commercial nuclear exporting nation.

The $20 billion agreement between a consortium led by the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. calls for the building of four 1,400-megawatt light water nuclear reactors by 2020 near Sila on the Persian Gulf 330 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi. With post-construction maintainance and management contracts the deal could reach $40 billion, officials said.

The reactors are to be the indigenously developed APR-1400 units currently being built in South Korea.

In the past, only the United States, France, Canada, Russia and Japan have won overseas deals to build nuclear reactors, with South Korea only managing to sell components used for reactors and nuclear facilities.

The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the KEPCO-led consortium made up of such companies as Hyundai Corp., Samsung C&T Corp. and Doosan Heavy and Engineering Co., sidestepped stiff competition from France's energy giant Areva SA and the partnership made up of General Electric Co. of the United States and Hitachi Ltd. of Japan.

U.S. energy firm Westinghouse Electric Co. and Japan's Toshiba Corp. will also benefit from the deal by providing components to Doosan.

The knowledge economy ministry said securing the contract marks the first time Seoul won the rights to sell a complete commercial atomic reactor abroad despite having developed knowhow to design and build its own indigenous reactors without outside help.

"The UAE deal is testament to the competitiveness and technological prowess enjoyed by South Korea in this sector after beginning its commercial nuclear generation in the 1970s," said Na Ki-yong, head of the ministry's nuclear energy division.

He claimed that by winning the deal there will be greater global recognition for South Korean reactors that could help the South Korean industry grab further orders down the road.

The official said that the construction agreement could grow to $40 billion if Seoul provides nuclear fuel, helps manage the plants and conducts maintenance over the next 60 years. It may also help create 11,000 jobs in the country for the next 10 years.

"The reactor deal is equivalent to the sale of 1 million Hyundai NF Sonata sedans, 62 Airbus A380 double-decker passenger jets and 180,300,000-ton tankers," he claimed.

Other experts said that the UAE agreement is expected to give South Korea an edge when it bids to win prospective construction deals in Turkey and Jordan.

Turkey said that it wants to build a second nuclear power plant in the Sinop region, while Jordan has expressed plans to construct two 1 million kilowatt reactors near Aqaba.

South Korea, which is one of the few countries in the world to have continuously built nuclear power reactors after it first unit went on line in 1978, may be able to play a role in the building of reactors in the United States, China and India down the road.

Many North American and European countries had halted new construction after the Chernobyl disaster and Three Mile Island incidents.

Washington and New Delhi plan to build 30 and 50 new reactors in the coming years, while Beijing said that it intends to increase its nuclear energy output from 9 million kilowatts in 2008 to 86 million kilowatts by 2020.

Janice Dunn Lee, deputy chief of the Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency, said that about 50 countries around the world with no past experience have shown interest in building up their nuclear energy capabilities.

It said there may be upwards of 1,040 nuclear reactors in operation around the world by 2050, from around 440 today.

KEPCO, South Korea's state-operated power supplier, attributed the deal to price competitiveness, high "capacity factor" and proven track record in safety.

In 2008, the capacity factor or average operational rate stood at 93.3 percent which is 14 percent higher than the world average, while there have been no serious accidents in over 30 years of operating nuclear power.

South Korea is the fifth largest operator of nuclear power in the world with 20 commercial reactors accounting for 36 percent of all electricity generated in the country. It plans to build 12 new reactors by 2022 with eight to be in operation by 2016.

"The country has accumulated extensive infrastructure to build and maintain nuclear power reactors with over 20,000 experts in this field. Such a solid base has made it possible for the country to build reactors faster than competitors," a KEPCO spokesman said. Faster construction time translates into a cut in building costs.

He claimed South Korea has been able to construct a reactor in about 52 months in the past, while in the United States it took 57 months and 60 months for France.

The military is considering doubling the period of basic military training for conscripts in a bid to fill a possible gap in combat readiness from the planned reduction in service period, sources said Sunday.

The idea was first discussed during a meeting of top military brass on Dec. 9, and the Ministry of National Defense is studying follow-up measures, they said.

``We're considering an option to have recruits undergo three to five weeks of additional training following the mandatory five-week basic training,'' a ministry official said, asking not to be named.

Follow-up training will focus on allowing recruits to learn specified skills for their jobs, he said.

Currently, recruits are required to undergo five weeks of basic military training before their two-year-long compulsory service in the military. South Korea maintains the conscription system in which all able-bodied men over 19 must serve in the military for 24 to 27 months.

The military has been studying ways to resolve problems concerning a potential manpower shortage that could arise in coming years as a result of reducing the military service period in stages, as well as the troop reduction plan under the Defense Reform 2020.

The previous Roh Moo-hyun administration decided to shorten the service period by six months by 2014. Critics have said the plan was politically motivated to win support from young voters ahead of the 2012 presidential election without solving any potential problems from the lack of manpower.

Last month, the defense ministry hinted that it might consider reducing the planned cut in the service period from six months to between two and three months, responding to questions by ruling party lawmakers.

Rep. Yoo Seung-min of the governing Grand National Party said the results of a 2003 study made by the state-funded Korea Institute for Defense Analyses showed that the service period should be at least 22 months to secure ``well-trained'' service members.

`Reducing the service period by as much as six months, only on the basis of a government decision without a national consensus, is too excessive,'' Yoo said. ``We should come up with measures to prevent a possible security vacuum as a result of an excessive reduction in the service period.''

An interim study by the ministry showed that under the original service-period reduction plan, there would be a shortage of some 2,000 service members by 2021, and the number would increase up to 90,000 by 2045, given the current low birthrate and the decrease in the country's male population.

Delays in procuring planned weapons systems due to an insufficient increase in defense budgets have also affected the reduction plan. The Roh administration believed the reduction in the service period would be feasible assuming that the defense budget could increase by 7.9 percent every year until 2020.

Next year's defense budget proposal, however, marks only a 7.3-percent increase.

(For simplicity and clarity purposes, some of the questions by the interviewer have been omitted or integrated into the answers by Mayor Iha. )

English translation of the Interview with

the Ginowan City Mayor Iha Yoichi

News 24, Nihon TV, aired on December 11, 2009

Question: As the mayor of Ginowan City, you have to deal with the Futenma Marine Corps Air Station. As mayor you have advocated that the Futenma Base is the world’s most dangerous base and that it should be removed from Ginowan. But you have advocated for the complete removal of the Futenma Base from Okinawa Prefecture, and move it all to Guam. What have you discussed with Tokyo, in regards to this matter?

Iha: I met with the Parliamentary Secretary for Defense Nagashima Akihisa, and I also met with the Vice-Ministers for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cabinet Office, and I have made my demands. The Futenma problem has really become a problem for the government, but we have mainly focused on the issue of whether or not to move the base to Henoko, in Okinawa. However, the US government has already been writing up plans to move the Futenma Marines to Guam, and the Japanese government has spent $6 billion to help fund the plans.

Regardless of this, the Japanese people, parliament, and the people of Okinawa have never been given a proper explanation of the plans. In the US, a report on the environmental impact of the relocation of the base to Guam has been made public; I want this report to be explained in detail in Japan. I want to request that the problems surrounding Henoko and US bases within Okinawa Prefecture be reviewed. I want to ask why a base is still required in Henoko when most of the Marines in Okinawa are being relocated to Guam, and the Futenma Base itself is going to be moved to Guam.

Question: Is a complete relocation to Guam possible? Defense Minister Kitazawa has stated that a complete relocation of facilities to Guam would be impossible; this is different from what you have been advocating. What do you think about the Defense Minister’s comments?

Iha: In the “Roadmap” agreement between the US and Japan (United States-Japan Roadmap for Realignment Implementation), in June of 2006, Futenma’s air capabilities were to be relocated to Henoko, but there was no agreement on relocating the Marine units in Futenma to Henoko. However, just half a year before that agreement was reached, until October of 2005, the agreement (U.S.-Japan Alliance: Transformation and Realignment of for the Future) was that the Marine units would also be relocated to Henoko. But in May of 2006, the US Department of Defense changed their plan and decided that all Marine units in Okinawa would be relocated to Guam.

It is public knowledge that 8,000 Marines will be relocated to Guam from Okinawa, and 9000 of their family members will also be moved to Guam. But the number of the family members is less than 9,000. It is said that it is actually less than 8,000. .

The Japanese government has agreed to build homes for 9,000 family members in Guam. Ultimately the Marine units that will be relocated to Guam will be met with more Marine units from around the world. In the end there will be 10,600 marines going to Guam.

Question: Is Defense Minister Kitazawa wrong in that sense?

Iha: What Mr. Kitazawa is saying is about moving Futenma’s air facilities to Guam, and how this does not match with the previous US-Japan agreement. Under the current US-Japan agreement, Futenma’s replacement facilities were to be built in Henoko, but we are not talking about the Marine units when we talk about Henoko, but the airbase facilities.

In regards to moving the airbase however, building a new airbase in Henoko and building a new airbase in Guam are two completely different stories. There are already two airbases in Guam, so it should be impossible to build another. But the reason behind wanting to build an airbase in Henoko was because the first agreement had decided that the Marine units would also be moved to Henoko that is why we agreed to build a new base in Henoko.

"I was invited by activist Cindy Sheehan to speak at the CIA drone protest held on Saturday afternoon (January 16) outside their Langley, Virginia headquarters. As we arrived we saw big orange barricades all along the road with yellow “crime scene” plastic tape stretched all along the highway and also draped from tree to tree in the narrow spit of woods separating the four-lane road and the CIA fortress. A 50-yard open area was our protest “zone” and was totally encircled by the yellow tape. The clear message to the many cars blasting by us was: “Don’t go near those inside the yellow tape. A crime is now being committed by them.” A massive number of CIA cops and Fairfax County police had us surrounded, even from inside the patch of woods.

Cindy had worked hard in recent weeks to promote the event, primarily by Facebook and regular emails. She told us that her Facebook page was “mysteriously” taken down in the last week creating the impression amongst some that the event had been cancelled. As it turned out just over 100 people showed up for the event. A good percentage of the folks there were the Catholic Worker activists (Witness Against Torture) who have been valiantly continuing their daily “no torture” protests in front of the White House. Dressed in their orange prison garb with black hoods over their heads they were a strong reminder of the CIA directed detentions and interrogations at Guantanamo and other such hell-holes run by the U.S. around the world.

Singer/songwriter David Rovics was there to perform but had to do so without a sound system as it didn’t work. A former FBI agent, turned peace activist after being fired for refusing to investigate hunger-striking veterans protesting U.S. illegal wars in Central America in the 1980’s, told his moving story. Kathy Kelly spoke in her usual animated and heart-rending way about the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan who are suffering the reality of drone strikes. Cindy Sheehan told us about the many messages she was getting from Pakistan where people were thrilled to hear that Americans were actually protesting at the CIA’s HQ.

My friend Will Van Natta drove up from southeast Florida for the event. He is a lifeguard in West Palm Beach and in 1997 swam about 20 miles in the ocean to protest the launch of the Cassini plutonium spacecraft. His courageous action was a huge media event and reminded us that if we each just do what we are “good at” then our contributions can be enormous. He has just bought time on a local radio station and will air his own weekly progressive talk show.

When I spoke at the protest I said how glad I was to be there for the first time in my life. The CIA, and their drone attacks, is the symbol of the corporatization and privatization of U.S. war policy. The running of wars has essentially been taken away from a neutered Congress and put into the hands of the secret cabal that now runs our government. We need to shine a light on this.

I also of course talked about how U.S. space technology controls the drones as it does most Pentagon “net centric” war fighting these days. Robotic warfare might be “hands off” and “out of sight-out of mind” but it is still dirty and is killing legions of civilians.

I reminded folks that drone and other robotic devices were ultimately just manifestations of a larger war and domination policy. We need to keep putting in front of the public the big picture and I went on to talk about “security export”, the U.S. role under corporation globalization of the world economy. Endless war is America’s future and social collapse at home will be the end result unless a movement springs up quickly.

On the train ride to DC I began reading a new book called “Democracy’s Prisoner: Eugene V. Debs, The Great War, and The Right to Dissent.”

Debs is my hero in American history. He ran for president five times as a Socialist and the last time, 1920, did so from the Atlanta penitentiary where he was jailed for having spoken out against U.S. participation in World War I. Arrested under the “Sedition Act” Debs and many others were jailed for opposing President Woodrow Wilson’s military draft and his decision to move the U.S. into that bloody war.

I began my CIA protest speech by telling a story from this book. Wilson was elected as the “peace candidate” in 1916 saying that he would keep the U.S. out of the European war. But immediately after the election was over Wilson turned and began a massive national war mobilization and cracked down hard on the large anti-war movement that existed prior to the election.

The book, written by Ernest Freeberg, recounts, “For many, the conflict was still distant and incomprehensible. Christian pacifists, agrarian populists, and many progressive reformers believed that Wilson’s decision to intervene in Europe betrayed the nation’s highest principles, while the Socialists still insisted that the country would be fighting ‘for the interest of financial freebooters [corporations] only.’ Most of the liberal peace organizations either disbanded or supported Wilson’s war to end all wars, but many individuals from those groups dreaded the prospect of having to choose between their country and their conscience.”

One man in the crowd outside the CIA HQ yelled out at this point asking me if I was trying to make a “subtle” comparison to Obama? Of course I was. Obama is now doing what Wilson did during his time in office, neutralize the left and fragment the anti-war movement. We need to learn from these lessons of history.

I ended my talk by sharing the story about our recent launch of the Bring Our War $ Home campaign in Maine. I said, “In Maine we are calling on our two congresspersons to not only vote against further war spending bills but also become leaders in the House against war. The House is where we might have a slim chance to block any more war funding but we are going to have to first enliven our local communities and states. If we want to stop war then we have to fight to save social progress at home. If we want to ground the drones we have to connect them to the suffering people all over this nation who will increasingly be the brunt of this mad war for corporate control.

The CIA is a profoundly violent and corrupt organization and, while we don't think the Military should be using manned, or unmanned aerial vehicles, we think the drone bombings from CIA robots are particularly despicable.

About the Site

The site is managed by an artist living in the South Korea. The photo in the profile is the children in Osan, near the Pyeongtaek where the planned US military base hub in the north east Asia and a large US air base exists. They are the children of a teacher who manages the Children Peace School there. As a part of the class programs, the children in the class drew and wrote in a cloth, their wishes of the peaceful unification of Korea some day.